A Foolish Dream
by megavash1027
Summary: Naruto has just graduated from the ninja academy, and couldn't be happier to be a ninja. But his dream to be Hokage isn't the only dream that rests with him. In his hands, the dreams of a young girl, a ninja from afar, and the village, rest. Naru x Hina
1. Chapter 1

**A Foolish Dream**

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any associated characters.

**Summary:** As a boy, the young Naruto Uzumaki was a boy with a dream. An impossible dream. Despite being hated by the village, he dreamed of the day that he would be Hokage, the village leader. Now, after finally passing the Ninja academy exams, He's ready to make it come true. But Naruto's dream is not the only foolish hope on his shoulders. Knowingly or unknowingly, Naruto carries with him the dreams of a young girl, a mysterious ninja from a distant village, and ultimately, the entire village. Can the boy Make his foolish dream come true without destroying the hopes of those who have placed their dreams with him? Pairings are Naruto/Hinata.

**Author's Notes: **hello everyone, and I hope you like this story. It is my fourth fic on this site, and my first about Naruto. I'm very sorry it's so short, but please be aware that all other chapters will be longer. I just needed this to get ideas flowing. Please enjoy the story, and review if you like it. I hope to update regularly, so check back often.

**Chapter 1: A Ninja at Last!**

It was a quiet afternoon in the village of Konoha, and all was calm. A gentle breeze blew through the streets, and a few people walked along, not in any real hurry. It was days like these that let the people of the village relax between missions, and maybe look through a few of the local shops. This was important to the Ninja of Konoha, and let them stay sharp when on the job.

"I DID IT!"

Suddenly a high pitched voice ripped the silence, and a young boy in an orange jumpsuit Ran through the village at break-neck speed, jumping in excitement. "I did it, I'm a real ninja now! Believe it!" He knew he was making a scene, but he didn't care. He was a ninja at last. He was that much closer to his dream, and that was something to celebrate.

Everyone on the street suddenly turned to see the boy, but soon all turned away, uninterested. He didn't let their disinterest deter him, but instead turned to the academy, a big, goofy grin on his face. A large group of happy children about his age were slowly making their way out of the academy doors. They all chatted together happily, trying to ignore their hyperactive classmate. The boy in the orange jumpsuit scanned the crowd until he saw one face in particular. It was a young girl with blue eyes and pink hair, following close behind a dark haired boy, along with a large group of other girls. The boy was the only child who seemed entirely unexcited, and ignored his little entourage. The boy in orange ignored him and walked up to the girl with the pink hair.

"Hey Sakura-Chan! Congrats on passing the exams! I knew you could do it!" The boy ran up to her, but the girl simply turned way from him with an annoyed look on her face. "Hey, where're you going, sakura-Chan! Aren't you going to congratulate me for passing with a kiss?"

At that, Sakura's face suddenly took on a look of rage. She turned to the boy and punched him in the face with all of her might. The boy went flying back, and fell flat on his face. "Naruto you pervert! Get lost!" She stood there fuming as the boy struggled to his feet, still laughing. "Why do you do this to me! You're like some kind of curse! I should beat you to a pulp!"

"I'm sorry, Sakura-Chan. I was just kidding. And anyway, it's better than that Sasuke guy you follow around." That was the wrong thing to say. Sakura punched him in the gut. He fell to the ground again.

"Naruto, you idiot! Sasuke is better than you in every way!" She stood over Naruto, and glared down at him, suddenly she seemed to panic. "Hey, Sasuke-Kun left me behind! Augh, this is your fault Naruto. You're lucky I don't have time for you." With that she ran away, leaving Naruto on the ground. The boy got to his feet, still smiling, and ran off through the streets. It would take more than a beating to get him down today. He turned his steps toward Ichiraku Ramen, and ran with all his might to the little stand. He needed all the strength he could get to prepare for his super cool ninja missions.

Hanging back a bit behind him, a small girl with large, blank eyes and a frightened expression was following behind him, hiding behind trees or trash cans as she went. She kept her eyes on Naruto, and her gaze was full of longing. The girl's name was Hinata, and she too had become a ninja that day. She, like the others, was happy to have passed the test, for a few different reasons. She hoped her training would let her make her father proud, and she wanted to help people, but there was another reason. She wanted to become brave enough to confront her crush. She had liked him since childhood, but had never been able to talk to him.

She wanted to be brave and determined like the boy she admired, but that had always eluded her. It was a foolish dream, but it was what she had always wanted. And now that she was a ninja, she was one step closer to it. With that thought in her mind, she smiled at the boy she admired, and continued to follow behind him.


	2. Chapter 2: Teammates

**Chapter 2: Teammates**

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any associated characters.

**Author's Notes: **Chapter two is up and I have a few comments. So you know, the teams will be arranged differently than in the anime. Also, at least one character will be replaced with an OC. He won't show up for a few more chapters, but I do hope his appearance doesn't disappoint fans of the character he replaces. Please read and review if you like it.

Naruto had plenty of time to celebrate before he began his next stage of ninja training. In fact, it wasn't until a few days later, at the Hokage's office, that the new Genin were divided into teams. The Jonin in charge of the rookie Genin had gathered to discuss which of the new recruits would be teamed up. There were three of them, and each would select three Genin from the nine new graduates. All of them had their eyes on a select few, and Asuma was the first to speak.

"Mighty Hokage, I request to take Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akamichi as my students. I believe they possess abilities that compliment each other greatly." The dark haired jonin stood, head bowed, and waited for the old man to answer. When he did respond, he did so with a simple nod of the head. This team surprised no one, and did not require much discussion. The rest of the meeting would go less smoothly. The other two jonin, Kurenai and Kakashi, stepped forward.

Kakashi spoke first, his head bowed like Asuma before him. "Hokage, I request to have Sasuke Uchiha, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame as my students." The Hokage looked surprised at the selection.

"I accept your choices, Kakashi, but am curious as to how you came to them. I was expecting you to take on young Naruto, as well as Sakura. Why are you pining for the Aburame boy, and kiba as well? The team seems a bit top heavey to me." He knew they were all good ninja, but the team seemed to lack balance.

Kakashi looked up at the old man. "Very well. Allow me to explain. I feel that with the addition of Shino, our team will have a calm thinker among the numbers. Shino is clever, and with the backing of Inuzuka and Uchiha, he will be very formidable. I could think of know use a foolhardy show off or a weak, over emotional girl, so I excluded them." The room was quiet as the man spoke. Some were disgusted at Kakashi's words, but they kept quiet about it. When he finished, the Hokage turned to Kurenai.

"I am satisfied with the remaining students," The female jonin said, and with that, the Hokage ended the session. Kurenai Was sure that her student would be successful, though it was an odd group indeed. In addition, she had received the problem child. She was disappointed of course, but even Naruto could be trained to work with others. Kakashi was harsh on the boy, but that was not unusual. The whole village despised him.

"Finally!" Naruto exclaimed as he stood amid the new genin. At last the teams would be chosen. He couldn't wait. He looked out at the perspective team mates. The was that weirdo Shino, always out collecting bugs, and on the fringes of the group, Shikamaru the slacker was looking up at the clouds as usual. Ino the ditz was combing her hair, and Kiba the show off was playing with his dog Akamaru. There was Choji the fatso, and Sasuke the jerk.

Then there was Sakura and Hinata. He had always liked Sakura. She was pretty, smart…but unfortunately hated him with passion. Then there was Hinata. Shy, sweet, but a little creepy. Her eyes didn't help, big and pale as they were. Still she was always friendly to him, and that was rare among the villagers. Sometimes he wondered why she blushed so much. It seemed to him that whenever he saw her, she had red cheeks. He worried she might be sick.

Before them, the three Jonin and the Hokage stood, assessing them. The Hokage raised his hand, and silence fell. All eyes turned to him. He in turn looked at them each, holding their attention with stern eyes. "The teams will be as follows, so everyone listen closely." all ears were on him as he spoke the names. "Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akamichi will form team 10. Attend to your sensei, Asuma Sarutobi." The three rose and went to Asuma-sensei, who was smoking as usual. Kiba, loud and obnoxious as usual, shouted congratulations to them. They all looked happy except Ino, who wore a glare. She had wished to be teamed with Sasuke.

Things settle down slowly. The Hokage cleared his throat and silence fell over the crowd. "Okay, settle down. I have more to say." Once again the others turned to the old man. "Team 7 will be composed of Sasuke Uchiha," he began. Naruto Scowled as Sakura looked on hopefully. "Kiba Inuzuka," The old man continued. Sakura was now looking longingly at Sasuke. She could already hear her name being called. Naruto was in a slight panic. Stuck with such a shy girl, and a creepy bug dude? That was no way to become Hokage! "And Shino Aburame. Report to Sensei Kakashi Hatake."

At this a few things all happened very quickly. The first was a defeated scream from Sakura, as her spot by Sasuke's side was filled, and following that was an excited exclamation from Naruto, as he took his spot next to Sakura. The horror slowly dawned on the pink haired girl.

"Why do I have to be teammates with him?" She shouted. The Hokage simply shook his head. Sakura was angry, but accepted her fate. Naruto jumped and hollered in celebration. The Hokage rose his head to speak once more, and all eyes were on him.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Hinata Hyuuga, you form team 8. Please join Sensei Kurenai Yuhi" With that a dejected Sakura and an excited Naruto Joined Kurenai-Sensei, followed by a nervous but happy purple haired girl. She could hardly believe her own luck. As she stepped next to Naruto, blushing brightly, she could think of only one word. Teammates.

Naruto turned to see her blush, and put on a quizzical expression. "Hinata, why are you so red?" Hinata tried to respond, but could only mumble a bit before the blood rushed from her head. She felt light for a moment, and then fainted. Naruto Caught her, and promptly freaked out, dropping her on the ground and screaming. Sakura punched him in the face, muttered something like "What an idiot," and went to her side. Kurenai watched them and shook her head. This would be far from easy.


	3. Chapter 3: Kakashi's visit

**Chapter 3: Kakashi's visit**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, or any associated characters.

**Author's Notes: **Chapter 3 is up, and more are coming! Thank you to all my reviewers for the invaluable input. I hope no one was too upset about my team arrangements. I think the three will have a good dynamic. In addition, I am trying to play the personalities as close to early cannon as possible, so Naruto will be annoying, Sakura will be a bit of a tsundere, and Hinata will be sweet but a little creepy. Some may not like that, but the characters make the story. Read and review if you like it.

After the area had cleared, Hinata began to come to. She mumbled a bit, and blinked once or twice. Sakura was kneeling beside her, holding a warm rag to her forehead. Naruto was rubbing a bump on his head a few feet away, and Kurenai-sensei was saying something to him that Hinata could not hear. At the moment, she couldn't hear much of anything. Her ears slowly adjusted, but the first thing she heard was not Naruto, but Sakura. Her voice had a bit of concern, but more relief than anything. She was smiling down at Hinata, and as the purple-haired girl rose, Sakura held her down and offered some water.

"Take it easy for a bit Hinata," she said. Hinata took the water and leaned back down. "Are you okay, Hinata? You fainted for some reason." After that, she scowled for a moment and turned to Naruto. "And then _someone _had to drop you!" Naruto winced in fear for a moment, and Hinata frowned. Then Sakura's expression softened, and she turned back to Hinata. "But don't worry. I am sure he's sorry. Can you get up?" Hinata nodded and stood, feeling a bit shaky. After a moment, she was able to stand steadily. Her legs felt stable now, and she could walk. "Good. You seem okay now."

She had never really seen that side of Sakura before. The Sakura she knew was just another girl who swooned after Sasuke, and hated Naruto. Girls like that were common in Konoha. She never knew that she could be so…nice. However, she did not have long to think on it. Once she was standing and walking, Kurenai called the team together. She pulled herself up nice and straight, and addressed her students. "Okay, listen up!" she yelled. "Training will start in one hour at the east training ground, so be there on time. Go get ready, discuss the teams among youself if you would like, and come to the training ground in one hour. Goodbye." With that, Kurenai-sensei left the students, never dropping her air of authority.

The children watched the teacher walk away, Hinata feeling a bit intimidated by her. Naruto saw the fear in her eyes, and felt the need to compfort her. He just hoped she didn't faint again. He walked up to her, aware of Sakura's glare on him. She must still be upset with him, he thought. Well then he'd just better say sorry." Hinata…" he began. Like clockwork, she began to blush. Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously. "I just wanted to say, well, I'm sorry. You know for earlier…" He could still see how nervous she was. He wanted to help, but was sure how.

"Th-thank you," she said, in a small sort of voice. "But it wa-wasn't your fault. I'm just sorta weak I guess." She envied him so much. Even as they began training and facing suck hardships, he was unphased. She wanted to be like that. "Umm…Sensei can be a little scary. I hope I can be strong enough…" Why can't I ever talk to him, she thought. He was nice and encouraging, but speaking to him made her nervous. He seemed confused by her statement, and she turned her face down. She felt so useless. Then Naruto smiled his wide, goofy smile, and she felt a little better.

Naruto grinned widely and held out a big thumbs up. "Don't worry, Hinata, we'll do fine. I'm sure we will all become powerful ninjas someday soon, and I promise to help you as much as I can along the way. This is my promise to you, so believe it!" As he spoke, Hinata began to smile. He liked that. She looked good with a smile, and he decided he had to make her smile more often. Behind Naruto, Hinata could see something she didn't expect. He had no way to see it, but Sakura was looking at him with a small sort of smile. Hinata was glad top see she didn't hate him as much as she seemed to. A few moments later, she looked away, and the smile had gone.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun. I… needed to hear that." With that, she started walking toward the town. "Um… Well we have some time," she said looking back to them. "Do you guys maybe want to get food at Ichiraku?" She seemed rather nervous, but not as much as before. Naruto and Sakura both agreed to go. The three went off to lunch, looking forward to their first training session.

Nearly an hour later, Kurenai waited for them at the east training ground. She had spent her time setting up for them, and had some surprises for them. She had no intention of going easy on anyone. She had told Naruto as much while Hinata was unconscious. Leneance was never her policy, and if theey couldn't handle it, that was their problem. As one of only a few female jonin, she had to be as tough as possible. That was just how it worked, and she didn't mind.

At the far end of the field, she saw someone approaching her. At first, she tought her students were coming, but soon she saw it was only one man. Kakashi Hatake, the grey haired jonin, was walking toward her with his nose deep inside the latest book in the makeout paradise series. She scowls at him for a minute, and then her face relaxed.

"Well, my trainees certainly showed some strength. Not to say they're perfect though. Sasuke needs to learn teamwork, and kiba must learn to think before he acts. SO hpw did training go with that little degenerate of yours?" Beneath his mask, his face was hard to read. She thought he might be smiling. "I don't envy you Kurenai-san. It will take plenty of work to whip that one into shape."

"We haven't startyed yet, but they'll be here soon. And hard work has never been something for me to shy from. Thank you for the concern." Her face was just as unreadable as his was. She had never had much trouble with Kakashi. The man could be nice, funny, and cared for his comrades. She did not like to see him being so harsh on her students. "I have confidence in my students, Kakashi, so do not degrade them in front of me."

Kakashi grinned, and sht his book. "I'm sorry to offend, in that case. Either way, it appears you are soon to be busy. I'll talk to you soon." He pointed to the approach9ng children, and began to walk away. Kurenai turned to her students, and watched as they came foreward. They seemed much more comfortable around each other now. They would need that friendship. When they were close nough, she called their attention to her.

"Okay!" She said. "This will be your first training session. The objective is simple, so try to pay attention. I shouldn't need to repeat myself." Everyone listened carefully to their sensei. "Before this session is over, each one of you must land one strike on me, or all three of you go back to the academy. All for one, team. That is how it works in this world. Training begins now!"


	4. Kurenai's Test

The air was thick with tension as the three new Genin stood facing down their mentor, each assessing the situation before taking action. It was now that Sakura saw her chance to take charge of her comrades, and prove her worth to Kurenai-Sensei. She glanced quickly to each side, and took measure of the others. Hinata was hanging back waiting, but Naruto was tense and ready to strike. "Hold it Naruto, we need a plan. We can't just go-"

Before she could even finish, the idiot was running headlong at sensei, kunai in hand. "Hey, old lady, let's see what you got!" He was fast, faster than Sakura expected, but Kurenai side stepped him easily, never even turning to look at him. Before Sakura even knew it, there was Kunai against her throat, and Kurenai was looking directly into her eyes. She shouted for Naruto, but he didn't seem to hear her. He was still running, fighting fiercely against some foe she could not see.

"Are you scared, Sakura?" Her teacher's voice was soft, and somewhat taunting. "I must say this is a sad showing. Naruto acted rashly, and all you can do is stare, and as for Hinata, she isn't even here." Sakura turned slowly, and saw it was true. Her teammate was gone, probably running in fear. She was alone. She was done for.

She closed her eyes, and waiting to feel the sting of the blade. When she did feel something, it was not cold steel, but a strange rush of energy, that coursed through her like an electrical shock. Her eyes snapped open, and Hinata was staring back at her, but not with her usual meek expression. The veins showed prominent around her eyes, and she had a serious look to her that took Sakura aback. "I am going after Naruto, follow me. Be careful, Sensei is using Genjutsu." With that, she was off and running, and Sakura had no choice but to follow her as closely as she could.

Naruto was slashing at the air in front of him when Hinata caught up with him. As she tried to get close, moving cautiously, the orange clad ninja turned, and began to attack her, moving with surprising speed. Hinata dodged, and drove an open hand into his midsection, sending him stumbling back. He looked read to keep coming, but them her shook his head, and looked up to see his partners.

"Wh-what are you guys doing here? Where'd Kurenai-Sensei go?" He looked first to Sakura, but she was as clueless as he was himself. He turned to Hinata then, and she responded immediately.

"Sensei ran while you two were under Genjutsu. She said our challenge was to find her in the training grounds." The others looked to the normally shy girl, but what they saw was a strange sort of confidence neither would have guessed she had. "I can track her with Byakugan, form up behind me." And just like that, the team had a leader, and a direction. Hinata followed the near invisible trail that Kurenai had left, picking up the subtle marks on the ground with the use of her extraordinary eyesight. The others kept close, and the trail lead to a thicket of trees near the edge of the training grounds.

Sakura stopped shoot as they came to the tree line. "Careful in here, guys. Sensei could be anywhere in this." They slowed pursuit and walked into the thicket, quietly drawing kunai from their pouches. The woods were silent, and for a while, not a word was spoken. When the silence was broken, it was Naruto who spoke. But of course.

"So, what's the plan, once we find her?" for a long while, no one answered, possibly because they had no idea how they could possibly take down a jonin. The silence was wracking his nerves, so he kept talking. "I mean we have to have some sort of plan, right? I'm mean come on, Sakura, you're good at that sort of thing, right?"

"Naruto, keep quite," his pink haired teammate told him as they walked. "you'll give away our position to sensei!" Just as Naruto was about to reply, a kunai came from nowhere and broke their concentration, and from there hell broke loose. Naruto and the girls took a defensive stance, but soon more kunai flew from every angle. When the army of Kurenai Sensei's appeared, they knew they were caught in the trap. It was a Genjutsu.

The real Kurenai emerged from the bushes with roe in hand. She approached the three genin, intending to tie them up,and drag them to the woods as a punishment test for failing her examination. She had no doubt they could find their way home, but the ordeal would be a lesson. Just as she reached Hinata, she heard a faint, familiar sound. On instinct she dodged, and looked up to see Naruto dashing out of view. She looked back to see he was still captive, only to find him absent, along with sakura. Laughter was ringing through the woods.

"What's wrong Sensei?" Suddenly Naruto came out from behind the nearest tree, and from behind she heard someone coming up to free Hinata. She looked to see that Naruto was there as well, waking his teammate. She gave a sigh, and let out a laugh, putting her Kunai away, as Sakura revealed herself, accompanied by the third Naruto.

"Well, very impressive! You pass the test. Though I must ask when your friends joined us, Naruto?" It was Sakura who spoke as the other two grinned proudly. It was apparent already that the plan had been hers. She always was a smart girl.

"Well, I didn't know what we could expect, so I had Naruto create the clones before we got to the training grounds. You can never be too prepared. They were waiting in the trees in case we needed them." She was altogether too proud of the plan, and they had plundered by revealing themselves too early. In a real battle, that would have undid them. But for untested genin, it was far more than she could expect.

"A brilliant plan. You all played your part excellently. Don't let that go to your head, though. A ninja can always improve." She expected they would hate that phrase soon, as much as she intended to drill it into their heads. "That is for another day. Tomorrow as it happens, when you will meet me in this spot, before sunrise, just like you will be doing every day from now on, until I say otherwise." A collective groan filled the air. "But for tonight, I am feeling generous. A bowl or two at Ichiraku could do us well."

Naruto lit up like thanksgiving, and gave a loud cheer, jumping up and down. Sakura berated him for being too loud during the mission, and hit him upside the head. Kurenai, however, was watching Hinata, who was backing away from the group, all the confidence she had earlier gone again. Kurenai left the others to their devices, tapped Hinata on the shoulder, and lead her away from the group to have a private word.

"Y-yes, Kurenai-Sensei? What is it?" The girl was practically shaking, probably afraid of punishment that was coming. It was really rather sad.

"Oh, I was going to ask you that. You really took charge in the mission today, why so shy now?" The girl averted her eyes. "Really, you can tell me. You did great you know!" At this the girl finally spoke.

"I didn't do anything, really. I put on a brave face, but it was the others who really pulled through. Sakura came up with that great plan, and Naruto…well his clones made it possible. In the end, I didn't do much."

"You freed them from Genjutsu, and lead them right to me, following a trail they couldn't have seen. You think too little of yourself, you know that?"

Like I said, it wasn't that great. Sakura could have found you in that thicket, and even Naruto would know to scout there." The older woman sighed.

"Yes, either one of them could have found me, but they didn't. You did. The victory today was a team victory. Yours as much as Naruto and Sakura's." She clapped a hand on Hinata's shoulder, and the girl blushed. "Now let's grab the others and get ramen. I'm sure you're all hungry.


	5. Chapter 5: Dark tidings

A pleasant din filled Ichraku ramen stall, as it always did when Naruto was taking his meals. However, his visit was different. This was first time the proprietor's favorite knucklehead had brought friends his own age. As the kids merrily discussed the day's victories over bowls of steaming soup, the shop owner smiled from ear to ear, loudly announcing that today the ramen was on the house, to celebrate their first day of real ninja training. Even Kurenai sensei was smiling, though she had finished eating some time before her students.

Suddenly, as her students are talking amongst themselves, laughing and smiling, a small noise, like a birdcall from outside the tent, catches her attention. Her students hardly even noticed as she slipped out to answer the call just out of sight of the ramen stand. There the one eyed Jonin was waiting, hold the scroll out for her. She took it and read it quickly before looking back to Kakashi.

"Is this information reliable?"

Kakashi nodded, though he looked apprehensive. "It comes directly from our field agents, and you know as well as I do that the word of the Sanin is good." She was unconvinced.

"Jiraya is Sanin. I do not know this other one. It's he who concerns me. With every report like this, we grow nearer to a ninja war." At this, Kakashi straightened up and took back the scroll.

"We're soldiers, Kurenai. We are made for war, and in peace we train other soldiers. War is always inevitable in the end." He rose, and turned as if to leave. "Also, I saw the training session. Sorry to spy, just couldn't resist. They did good. All of them." Without another word, he was gone into the night, and she was alone.

"Kurenai-Sensei, where are you!" Naruto's loud voice cut through the night like a knife. As it grew closer, she stepped out of the shadows and waved to her smiling students. "Oh there you are! I bet you were off getting ready for some super cool secret mission. Well never mind about that. Me, Sakura and Hinata finished eating, and wanted to thank you for the meal." All three bowed and said their thanks.

Kakashi was right, she reflected. A war was coming, and these three children would be soldiers. They would kill, and they might even die. Even she might lose her life in the coming days. When she thought of Naruto killing his first enemy soldier, she wanted to cry. Instead, she smiled and nodded to them in approval. "You are all very welcome. I wanted to thank you for doing so well in training today. Now, be sure you get a good night's rest, from now on you will be meeting me at the training grounds at sunrise every day. We can't have you slacking."

Normally Naruto at least would have grumbled, but the day had put them all in good spirits. They thanked her, bowed once more, and went off toward home. For a long while they walked together, all chatting merrily with Naruto the loudest of all. It wasn't long though, before Sakura's path diverged, and they bid good night to the pink haired Kunoichi.

"Good night, Sakura-Chan! I'll see you tomorrow!" She grimaced for just a moment, and Naruto flinched back seeing it.

"Naruto, I tell you not to call me that," She said, her voice annoyed. However, she took a moment, exhaled, and suddenly her features were a bit softer. "Well, I guess it could be worse. I have to admit, you aren't as bad at this as I figure." At that she turned and left, leaving Naruto so red an onlooker may have thought she'd confessed undying love.

Now, it was just the two of them, Naruto and Hinata walking alongside one another. Hinata was silent and blushing, Naruto confused by her quietness. They walked like that for a long way, far past where their paths would normally diverge, when at last Naruto could not help but speak up.

"Hinata, is something wrong? Your house is way back there." He looked at her with slight concern, which for a moment served only to make her more uneasy. "We are teammates, you know. You can talk to me."

Hinata blushed and stuttered, but said nothing for several moments. At last she was able to speak a bit. "It's not that-I mean I'm not in any trouble. It's just, it's that I wanted to thank you, for not being upset I was on your team."

Naruto had to laugh at that, and Hinata very nearly began to cry, and then to faint when he put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, still smiling. "Is that what you thought? You sure are a strange one Hinata! Why would I be upset to have a great tracker nin like you on the team? You did great today, believe it!" With that he gave his signature smile and thumbs up, and then turned to head homeward. "Anyway, it's getting late, you should get home. We have to be at full power if we want to become great ninja!"

She stood there for some time, watching him walk away. She wondered, once again, if she'd ever get used to seeing him walk away. She hated it, but she could never not watch. When at last he turned the corner and disappeared from view, she turned and started for home. This was a team she could get used to.

Somewhere up on the rooftops, the first wave of Anbu Sentries were starting duty, watching the streets and borders of the village as all others slept. They were the hidden defenses of Konoha, and each of them knew exactly why they were being assigned. They watched the young Ninja walking towards home, and wondered if the village had the strength to hold back what was coming. They would need a miracle, they knew. Was there are miracle in Konoha, they wondered. Only in the face of war could they be so blind as not to see the one in the streets bellow.


End file.
